World Architecture Festival Finalists

Consider that perhaps the vitality of new design is actually coming from the continent where the World Architecture Festival will be held this October: Asia. Consider also that, as reported on July 26th by ArchDaily, the shortlist for awards for this years’s program includes 301, yes 301, applicants who made it onto a “short list.”

Here are just two that I picked out for reason of photogenics and ingenuity. ArchDaily reports that the theme of this year’s festival, “Rethink and Renew, highlights the need for innovative and creative approaches to existing buildings and areas, while posing the question of whether or not architecture is fulfilling the role that it should and delivering for those it serves.”

With this in mind, the Cloud House is described as a renovation to an Edwardian-fronted house in Fitzroy North, Australia. McBride Charles Ryan are the architects; visit this link for a full set of pictures and details. (I love the part about the form of the cloud conforming to setback regulations, and it really bears underscore that this architecture exists in a place in Australia where, yes, historic facades are part of the fabric.)

Iran’s RYRA studio in Tehran also submitted an entry in the Hotels and Restaurants category for a ski resort that appears informed in part by 1960s Aeroflot design, and by Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. Barin Resort is the second largest ski area in Iran. Work on the resort began in 2009. The project is said to be informed by the curvatures of when snow lies on the ground. If this is organic architecture, I seriously want some (at least, to visit.)